The Future Could Not Be Clearer for Renewable Energy

Okay, the title is a bit of an overstatement. But when it comes to the economy, we don’t need a crystal ball to understand what is coming next. Rarely in history has there been a time when the greatest opportunity available has also been so obvious. People, groups and societies all wish to maintain and improve their standards of living. Yet the ecological underpinnings of the economy that would allow that to happen are at risk from legacy economic activities that we no longer need in order to maintain that standard of living. Seems like a paradox, but it's true.

Our practice of burning fossil fuels, which has turned out to be shockingly destructive, can now, reasonably, be replaced by other technologies in many areas, primarily led by renewables-to-electric ways of powering nearly everything we need. Similarly, our reckless and destructive depletion and methods of depletion of many natural resources can now be slowed dramatically, while not threatening our standard of living, primarily due to use of waste-to-value economics and methods.

Renewable energies and sustainable practices can now credibly be said to have the power to increase our standards of living since they provide far greater benefits for far less cost than their economic predecessors. Moreover, since fossil fuels are demonstrably destructive - to the point that their use threatens our society and its ecological underpinnings - arguments that continuing to expand their use somehow minimizes economic risks are nonsense on their face. On the contrary, it’s now clear that failing to reduce use of fossil fuels is among the riskiest things we can do.

Piecing together how the emerging sustainable economy might look turns out to be surprisingly simple, at least in principle. In each area of the economy, we need ask only two questions of each of the various ways of doing business:

Is it notably less destructive to our economy’s ecological underpinnings than other methods of getting the same result?

Can it be employed via a working, profitable business model that lifts the economy and provides employment?

If the answer to both is yes, there’s a good chance that we’ve identified a next economy business idea. Getting at the same things another way, we might ask of a business:

Is it environmentally sustainable?

Is it economically sustainable?

Different people will bring different standards of ‘sustainable’ to this way of defining the green economy, so there will be lots going on and a ton to learn as we piece together the next economy, but the principle, if not the execution, is not complicated. Ideas that lighten our footprint on global ecologies while simultaneously accelerating the world’s economy are emerging, they’re working, and they have every chance of radically altering our up-till-now recklessly destructive path.

10 Comments

"...burning fossil fuels, which has turned out to be shockingly destructive..." -- old news 40 years ago.

Fortunately , local solar, EVs, efficient storage, some hydro & geo, and advanced nuclear will do the job, though a bit late -- >500 billion tons of fossil Carbon late, in a world system able to handle 0.3 billion tons or less.

But, like subsidies, what are descendents for but to exploit and screw them?!
;]
Dr. A. Cannara
650-400-3071

Mr. Arov, I couldn't agree more, innovation is central to improving economic efficiencies to the point that human activities have a de minimus impact on our underlying ecologies. You can see econ. efficiency as a clear theme in many of my other posts, including the previous: http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2013/05/the-economic-case-for-divesting-from-fossil-fuels

Mr. Goudey, I agree that a carbon tax would be a great way for legacy fossil fuels-based technologies to pay for their as yet un-paid-for externalities. But I believe that renewables are becoming competitive enough that they will continue to steal market share with or without a logical price on carbon. Indeed, innovation will allow economics to roll right over policy, which is hopelessly behind.

Mr. O'Leary, the present is indeed a muddle, largely because of misinformation about climate and the efficacy of renewables. Yes, this presents complications, but also great opportunities to selectively invest in the emerging power and tech leaders while they're still misunderstood and undervalued.

Author is asking "what is environmentally and economically sustainable?"
Everybody knows that there is only one answer - innovation. Create new ideas in energy and economy models, implement them if they are economically sustainable - which means create jobs and bring dignity into human life. Eliminate do nothing approach (austerity)....
Look at current situation when innovators became enemy, forced into bankruptcy, when business is "sustainable" by not looking for better solutions instead by begging for subsidies.
This is a bitter reality, at least in my Country.

12,000 tons of new ultra-low water use, non-food pure oil fuel crop cultivars planted, grown, and harvested, without petroleum fueled tractors is one of the fundamentals of the Carbontech Cooperative, Inc. renewable energy project. The crop grain is processed in distributed facilities to produce pure oil for jet fuel, lubricants, and additives. The cellulosic bagasse from the crop is employed as feedstock on the same site without the use of water, enzyme, acids, or other chemical preparation in a modest-temperature (600 degrees F) small cookie-cutter engineered non-pyrolysis bioreactor. The Organic Energy Transfer (OET, LLC) bioreactor was first proven by University of Arizona research in 1978. The OET bioreactor produces a new long-chain hydrocarbon modern organic crude oil (MOCO) that contrasts to antique organic crude oil (FOSSIL). MOCO is 100% soluble in FOSSIL. Has high aromatic and many of the chemical characteristics of Sweet West Texas Intermediate FOSSIL. MOCO can be used as an asphalt or coal fine binder, or refined by an adjoining small-footprint bio refinery to produce FOSSIL compatible, green diesel and green gasoline. The emission from the bioreactor is odor and smoke negligible. The process recycles and employs much of the CO released from the process. The green methane emission from the biorefinery is captured and directed on an on-site non-water use gas generator. The generator produces QF certified REA electricity to power the facility, provide thermal energy to dry the pure oil seed and bagasse, and deliver QF certified dispatchable around the clock electricity to a local substation. Another residue of the process is substantially sanitary high-value field crop fertilizer, and grey water for agriculture, or that can easily be cleaned for drinking water. The MOCO and organic wastes to green products, green fuels, and green electricity is the Carbontech Cooperative, Inc. project has been developed under the radar without publicity. The strategically integrated agriculture program includes the University of Arizona Colleges of Agriculture and Agriculture Research Farm, BioEngineering, and Chemical Engineering, the USDA ARS, the Institute of Technology and Science of Northern Mexico, and numerous small business members of the Cooperative. The program is designed to use previously unused arid, semi-arid, and salt contaminated lands in the 20 western states and northern Mexico. The program is not on the WEB by choice. Information is available to all interested parties after execution of an NDA. For an NDA please contact:
Bob Shatz, COO, Carbontech Cooperative, Inc. rshatz@innotech.org

Garvin, the past couldn't be any clearer either. It is the present that is a muddle.

Indeed Futura Solar reached back to the 1920's for sawtooth roofing and turn of the (last) century for the Minnesota Window heater, combining them into a solar roofing system for low profile commercial buildings. Not an add-on module, the roof, with multiple solar benefits for the business beneath the roof.

Interestingly, the sawtooth and heaters (air & water) went out of fashion just as the entire energy grid was building out. Now that the grid is mature and fully subscribed, it seems time to bring these 'appropriate' technologies back into normal distribution.

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Garvin Jabusch is cofounder and chief investment officer of Green Alpha ® Advisors, LLC. He is co-manager of the Shelton Green Alpha Fund (NEXTX), of the Green Alpha ® Next Economy Index, and of the Sierra Club Green Alpha Portfolio. He...